Supreme Magus

Chapter 3803: Interests Collide (Part 2)

Acala had no problem facing the spite and insults from the people of the Kingdom. Dealing with the Awakened sheer envy, however, was another story entirely.

"Don’t listen to them, my love." Dawn’s mouth twitched in spite. "They talk like that because now they know they wouldn’t have to sacrifice their lives to become my host. Because they think you have ’tamed’ me.

"They just look at what we have achieved while ignoring all the sacrifices you made and the risks you took. I can assure you that after what I did to you, they would’ve never taken me back, and that after being in their head, I wouldn’t want them to."𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The mana geyser below the camp also allowed everyone to showcase their best spells and bloodline abilities and recover quickly. The elves gave a demonstration of their spell-imbuing abilities, letting their allies choose what they wanted for their equipment.

Balors and Fomor displayed their various bloodline abilities and shared the golden lightning so that the Awakened could get accustomed to the boost in their powers before the battle.

As for Lith, he conjured a new batch of Demons in between training sessions. The tower was actually buried below the camp, fueling his abilities, but he preferred to exert no more power than usual.

The tower’s presence allowed him to fuel that many Demons without putting a strain on his mana core and focus.

"We need to talk." Raagu Drerian and Feela the Behemoth joined him in conjuring Silverwing’s spells along with four more Awakened. "Don’t worry about these people. They are all my disciples and are about to Hush themselves."

A glare from the Human Representative and the four youths made themselves blind, deaf, and dumb.

"Talk about what? And what about Feela?" Lith asked.

"She’s the Beast Representative." Raagu replied. "Your representative. She’s here for your safety and comfort. With her here, this won’t feel like an ambush, and you can refuse to answer my questions without fear of repercussions."

"This is an ambush, but thanks for taking my paranoia into account before springing it." Lith snorted.

"You are welcome." Raagu replied as if he hadn’t been sarcastic.

"Raagu is telling the truth, Lith." Feela said while conjuring Silverwing’s Bastion with the rest of the seven-man unit. "This isn’t an ambush. Quite the contrary. She waited for this moment to keep Lotho and Inxialot away from you.

"They are too busy to notice us, and we have a plausible reason to talk."

"Again, talk about what?" Lith asked, realizing the careful timing of their conversation.

Raagu could have approached him at any other moment, but then the other Council members might have wondered what she needed from him.

"Did you build yourself a mage tower?" The group training sessions didn’t last long, so Raagu went straight to the point.

"I did what now?" Lith let all his surprise and shock show on his face.

They were genuine, and he hoped they would pass for born out of confusion rather than fear.

"You super armor. The so-called Omega Prime" Raagu said. "It can use Silverwing’s spells, it boosts your abilities, and it can only work above a mana geyser. Sounds like a mage tower to me."

"Just for that?" Lith laughed in relief.

He had long since prepared for such questions.

"Thanks for thinking so highly of me, Raagu, but no. I’m almost 21 and I’m a self-taught Awakened. When would I’ve found the time and, most importantly, the resources to make a tower?

"Even with Grandma using her Creation Magic to recycle my ingredients, I don’t even have enough metal for a full Adamant armor for myself. Where would I get the materials to craft a tower?"

Raagu pondered his words.

’The keep in his Mansion makes a perfect secret lab, and there’s a mana geyser there. Still, he has a point. Making a mage tower takes a lot of time and the kind of ingredients that a twenty-something year old can only dream about.’

"How does it work, then?" The Human Representative asked. "I’m not asking the specifics. Just an explanation."

"Most of its abilities come from my memory crystals. You should have seen them in action during Jirni Ernas’ fight against Meln. They can store all kinds of spells, even Blade Spells." Lith said, and Raagu nodded for him to continue.

"The rest is easy. I mean, relatively easy. The Elemental Crystals form a pattern that replicates Fusion Magic, and the geyser fuels the enchantments. I can’t bring the armor around with me because, without a power source, the memory crystals can’t contain Silverwing’s spells.

"It’s powerful, sure, but a tower?" Lith snorted.

"You can believe him." Menadion laughed so hard and sincerely that it irked him to no end. "Think about it. This runt’s every weapon came from someone else. He Forgemastered many wonders, sure, but he always had help.

"His greatest individual feat as a Forgemaster is the armor he wears, and even that took a Dragon’s corpse, Faluel’s teachings, and lots of tries. Nobody, and I mean nobody, ever made a tower in their twenties. Not me, not Yaga, no one.

"Valeron the First can be considered one of the greatest geniuses of his era, but he was no Forgemaster. To craft a tower takes talent, tons of materials, and more failures than you can count.

"With one baby and another bun in the oven, this guy has barely the time to breathe."

"This is both disappointing and reassuring." Raagu nodded. "I still have high hopes for you, Verhen. I wish one day you’ll make a fine Ruler of the Flames. We Awakened need all the help we can get. Damn Vastor."

"Annoying human!" Feela snarled. "Because of him, we’ve now lost the advantage of Fusion Magic! Fake mages can now use it as well as we do without wasting time to drink their slop."

"Actually, Hatorne came up with the tattoo potions." Lith pointed out.

"Indeed, but the old hag only sold them to a selected clientele." Raagu replied. "That fat bastard made the tattoos available to every fake mage and their dog!"

"How is that different from what I did with the Life Visors?" Lith asked.

"Are you kidding me?" Feela looked at him as if he were stupid. "The difference is that your feat teaches that Guun bastard a lesson and helps all Awakened, whereas Vastor’s feat only helps the non-Awakened! It doesn’t benefit me!"

"Silly me." Lith gave them a bow in apology while holding back his laughter.

***

Valak Region, Fortress of Detemer, a few hours later.

After regaining his freedom, Ruugat of the Earth had traveled for years before finding the perfect spot to achieve his apotheosis. A powerful mana geyser wasn’t enough to satisfy his needs, let alone to justify the endless struggle that protecting it entailed.

Monster tides, Eldritches, and other living legacies all wandered Jiera and coveted the mana geysers for their purposes. The destructive forces unleashed by the plague struggled against each other even more than they did against those pesky races trying to reclaim their so-called lands.

Every step was a battle and every bit of resources was paid in tears, sweat, and blood. Not literally, of course, since lost cities had no bodily fluids.